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Hotel Splendide

By: Ludwig Bemelmans
Narrated by: David de Vries
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Publisher's summary

Acerbic, colorful, and spirited stories from a bygone era: behind the scenes in a grand New York hotel, from the author of the Madeline books

Picture David Sedaris writing Kitchen Confidential about the Ritz in New York in the 1920s, which had the style and charm of The Grand Budapest Hotel . . .

In this charming and uproariously funny hotel memoir, Ludwig Bemelmans uncovers the fabulous world of the Hotel Splendide—the thinly disguised stand-in for the Ritz—a luxury New York hotel where he worked as a waiter in the 1920s. With equal parts affection and barbed wit, he uncovers the everyday chaos that reigns behind the smooth facades of the gilded dining room and banquet halls.

In hilarious detail, Bemelmans sketches the hierarchy of hotel life and its strange and fascinating inhabitants: from the ruthlessly authoritarian maître d'hôtel Monsieur Victor to the kindly waiter Mespoulets to Frizl the homesick busboy. Bemelmans' tales of a bygone era of extravagance are as charming as they are riotously entertaining.

©2022 Ludwig Bemelmans LLC (P)2023 Tantor
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Critic reviews

"David de Vries has a fine time delivering this comic tribute to life in a 1920s New York luxury hotel. He narrates in a rich tone and lively style that fits this satire of the opulent life of the Hotel Splendide, a slightly fictionalized version of the Ritz, where Bemelmans worked as a waiter. He ably does the necessary French and German accents and captures the demimonde of the hotel, where the world's wealthiest and most indulged folks are catered to by a battalion of servers. The author, who went on to create the famed MADELINE children's books, by turns appreciates and abhors the grand spectacle of life in the hotel. The narrator controls the proceedings, during which the staff often work until dawn, then dine on leftover caviar and champagne." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Hotel Splendide

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Behmelman at his best

If you know New Yorks great hotels you know the Plaza and the Carlyle hotels. Both of which Ludwig Behmelman placed his extraordinary mark on. His series of Madeline books is much like Kay Thompsons Eloise at the Plaza books with a distinctly French bent.
The Carlyle Hotel has his illustrations in the famed Behmelmans Bar.
This book is charming, funny, distinctively European in flavor and worth the listen.

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It was mundane

Eh. Not anywhere near Anthony Bourdine in story telling. Story of a waiter not a chef.

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